Why Did He Leave?
by Banana-boo
Summary: Jim and his mother talk about the day his dad left.This is my first Treasure Planet fanfiction! Please R&R!


Hey, everyone! This is my first Treasure Planet fan fiction, so it may not be the best. But please R&R!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Jim or Sarah or Jim's Dad or anyone or anything from Treasure Planet. I only wish I did. It belongs to Disney. So now you can't sue me:P

So, um… Here it goes:

Golden sunlight streamed in through the window and onto Jim's his bed, where he sat with his head in his hands. He lifted it for a moment and glanced at the clock.

It was 6:30 AM.

He let out a long sigh and lay back on his pillow. There was a knock on his bedroom door.

"Jim," he heard his mother say.

"Yeah?" he answered quietly.

Sarah opened the door and peeked into his room.

"Jim!" she scolded, seeing him still in his pajamas, "Why aren't you ready for school? I'm _not_ going to let you be late again!"

"Mom," he groaned "I have a _really_ bad sore throat. Could I maybe… stay home today?" He put on the best innocent face he could manage.

Sarah stepped into his room and looked at her 12-year-old son suspiciously. "You certainly have been getting sick a lot lately haven't you? Last week it was a cold, the week before that, the flu."

Jim stared at his hands, not able to make eye contact with his mother.

She walked over to Jim and sat next to him on the bed. "Jim, Look at me,"

He raised his head and looked at her

"What's the _real_ reason you don't want to go to school?" she said softly

"I'm sick," Jim mumbled and immediately lowered his gaze again.

But Sarah knew her son well and she could easily tell that he was not sick. He had often pretended to be sick when he was in a bad mood and asked to stay home, not wanting to be put in an even worse mood while his classmates picked on him.

"Jim," she said again, "Please don't lie to me. I can see you're upset about something. You can tell me what it is."

"It's nothing,"

"Yes, it is something. Just tell me okay?"

Jim sighed and stared out the window. Sarah watched him silently as he stared at a ship sailing slowly, far off in the distance. Now, she thought she knew what was wrong.

"Is it…" she paused, not knowing if she was making the right decision to bring this up. "Is this about your father?"

Jim made no movement, but just kept looking out the window. She could see that he was trying to hold back tears.

She put her arm around his shoulder and gave him a little squeeze. It had been five months since his father left, without even a good-bye to Jim. Ever since that day, Jim had not been the same. He was now starting to get low grades in school and most of the other children there tried to avoid him because he was always so depressed. Sarah's heart bleed for her son, and she wondered when he would ever return to his happy, playful self.

They sat there in silence. The only sounds to be heard were the soft, steady ticking of the clock in Jim's room and the faint chirping of birds from outside.

Finally Jim spoke up.

"It was because of me." he whispered.

Sarah looked up.

"Jim…" she began.

But he interrupted.

"He didn't want me. He never wanted me," he paused as a tear ran down his cheek, "I was just in the way. That's why he left."

He looked up and saw that his mother's eyes where also filled with tears.

"Oh Jim!" she cried, and gave her son a hug. "Don't say that Jim!" she said, her voice now almost a whisper. "Don't blame this on yourself! It isn't your fault! He _did_ love you sweetie. He just…" she struggled to find the right words "He just… didn't know how to be a good father. But he _did _love you, even if he didn't show it. I know he did. And _I_ love you. And I will always love you. Okay?"

Jim looked down at the ground and nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes with his sleeve.

Sarah stood up and put her hand on Jim's shoulder.

"Now," she said, "are you going to go to school today?"

Jim shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess so" he murmured.

"Good," said Sarah and gave Jim a little smile. "Then you'd better start to get ready or you really will be late!" Then she left his room and closed the door behind her.

Jim quickly got dressed, grabbed his backpack, and headed downstairs. Some early customers where already seated at tables in the Inn. He slipped out the door and started heading down the road thinking about the long day that lay ahead of him, and then stopped. He looked back at the old _Benbow_ and saw his solar surfer lying against its wall. He tightened his grip on the straps of his backpack as he thought:

_Mom will be working all day. She'll never notice it's gone._

He ran over to it, took off his backpack, and picked his solar surfer up. As he did so, he felt a pang of guilt. He had never skipped school before, well, _besides_ the times he pretended to be sick. He bit his lip and looked from his solar surfer, to his backpack, then back to his solar surfer. Then he straightened up and tried to get his conscience to leave him alone.

_She'll never know,_ he assured himself.

Still feeling guilty, he hid his backpack behind a bush, hopped on his solar surfer, and speed off towards the mines.

I hope you liked it. Please review! If you didn't like it, please don't hurt me! And if you see any misspelled words, tell me, because I'm a horrible speller. :)


End file.
